Collapsible cabinet

ABSTRACT

A cabinet is formed with hinged sidewalls, a removable top and a hinged inner shelf adapted to fold into a thin, compact unit for shipping and storing. The cabinet is readily folded and erected without the use of tools, the top locking in and out of position by means of snap catches.

United States Patent MacDonald 1 Feb. 22, 1972 [54] COLLAPSIBLE CABINET795,844 10/1905 Marsh 16/ 135 2,522,210 9/1950 Cohen 312/258 X [72]Inventor. Kenneth MacDonald, 251 York St., 2,764,462 9/1956 McDonald312/258 X Cam, 0221 1,559,878 11/1925 Humphreys.... ..312/2e2 [22]Filed: July 20, 1970 3,347,609 10/1967 Mann 312/257 R 3,403,641 10/1968Baker ..312/263 1 1 pp No.: 56,535 3,458,242 7/1969 Williams ..3l2/258Primary ExaminerJames T. McCall (C11 ..3l2/258 Ammey M0rse, Altman &Oates A cabinet is formed with hinged sidewalls, a removable top 5Reerences Cited and a hinged inner shelf adapted to fold into a thin,compact unit for shipping and storing. The cabinet is readily folded andUNITED STATES PATENTS ereeted without the use of tools, the top lockingin and out of 2 8 305 0/1957 Jackson 312/258 position by means of snapcatches.

933,210 9/1909 Ullom ..312/262 X 3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures a 56 i 4m,/ ////y/// PAIENTEDFEB22 1972 3,644,011

' INVENTOR.

KENNETH A. MOCDONALD mdi A T 7' ORA/E Y5 COLLAPSIBLE CABINET BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relatesgenerally to cabinets and more particularly is directed to a collapsiblecabinet such as used in kitchens, bathrooms and the like.

2. Description of the Prior Art Conventional cabinets of the sort made.foruse in kitchens, bathrooms and the like, usually are fabricated at afactory and shipped as assembled units to a customer for installation.The units come in a variety of sizes andshapes depending upon theirparticular function. The majority of these units are quite bulky, and asa result not only require an unusually large storage area forwarehousing but are relatively expensive to ship. Furthermore, fullyerected conventional cabinets of this type present problems forsalesmen-calling on potential customers and the consumer since mostunits cannot fit conveniently in an automobile and are awkward to carry.While cabinets of this type could be shipped fully disassembled, much ofthe cost saved by shipping and storage is lost in subsequent assemblycosts by the customer or his installer. Also, it is impractical forsalesmen to demonstrate units of this type if the units must beassembled and disassembled each time a call is made on a potentialcustomer.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provideimprovements in cabinets of the foregoing type. A further object of thisinvention is to provide a collapsible cabinet which may be folded into aflat, compact unit to save on storage and shipping costs and yet whichmay be quickly and easily erected without the use of tools.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention features a collapsible cabinet,comprising a fixed front frame portion, a pair of opposing sidewallshinged to either side of the frame portion for folding in against theframe portion, an interior shelf port-ion hinged to the lower part ofthe frame portion and also adapted to fold in against the frame portion,and a detachably connected top portion adapted for locking engagementwith the frame and sidewalls when in an erected position. Hinged jointsare hidden by shadow lines formed by fabricating the frame portion fromthicker stock than the sidewalls. Special hinges also serve asstructural components for the frame'portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a view in perspective ofacollapsible cabinet made according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a top plan view. thereof with the counter top removed, 1

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view in perspective showing the cabinet in a foldedcondition,

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 4,and,

FIG. 6 is a view in perspective showing the underside of the countertop.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to thedrawings. the reference character 10 generally indicates a collapsiblecabinet which, in the illustrated embodiment, is in the style known inthe trade as a vanity. The cabinet is generally organized about a frontframe section I2 including a facing panel 14 and a transverse kickerwall panel 25. the panel 14 defining a central opening 16 over which arehinged doors I8 and 20. The frame section also includes rcarwardlyextending fixed vertical side panels 22 and 24 extending from top tobottom of the cabinet and to which are hinged the doors I8 and 20. Thetransverse wall 25 extends between the side panels 22 and 24 and isrecessed from taken along the lines 3-3 of the front edge thereof asbest shown in FIG. 3 to afford foot clearance.

The side panels 22 and 24 are relatively narrow being on the order ofperhaps 3 inches or so and are connected by hinges 26 and 27 tosidewalls 28 and 30. The sidewalls 28 and 30 extend to the rear of thecabinet when the cabinet is fully erected, as in FIG. 1, the dimensionsofeach of the walls being not greater than the width of the facing panel14 to permit the sidewalls to fold in overlapping relationship as bestshown in FIG. 4. In accordance with the invention, the sidewalls 28 and30 are rectangular in outline and have a thickness somewhat less thanthe thickness of the side panels 22 and 24 as may be seen in FIG. 2. Byforming the walls 28 and 30 from thinner stock, not only is the weightof the overall cabinet reduced but also a shadow line 32 is formed alongthe hinge line between the frame and the hinged walls. The shadow lineeffectively obscures the joint where the walls are hinged.

The hinges 26 and 27 each includes a flat leg 34 which is screwed orotherwise secured to the hinged wall and an L- shaped leg 36 which isscrewed or otherwise secured to the frame side panels 22 and 24 and alsofastened to the facing frame member 14. Typically, two such hinges areprovided on each side of the unit one hinge being located at the topwhile the other is located near the base of the unit. The constructionnot only provides a firm hinge support for the folding walls but also,by reason of the L-shaped leg, serves as a connecting joint between thefacing panel 14, transverse panel 25 and the side frame panels, therebyreducing the parts involved in the structure as well as assembly steps.The combination hinge and joint provides a very rigid and durablestructure and one which is of simple, low-cost design.

Detachably mounted to the top of the cabinet when erected, is a countertop 38, typically a square or rectangular panel having a forwardoverhang and an upwardly projecting rear backsplash 40. Attached to theunderside of the counter top 38 are spaced locking devices 42,preferably in the form of a flat backing place 44 screwed or otherwisesecured to the counter and formed with a downwardly projecting ear 46.each provided with an indent 48 for snapping engagement with acooperating socket plate 50 screwed or otherwise fastened to the uppermarginal edge of each hinged wall and to the upper marginal edge of thefacing panel 14. The socket plate 50 is formed with a central channel orsocket 52 having a cooperating detent 54 for snapping engagement withthe indent on the ear 46. The locking elements are aligned so that thecounter top may be dropped into place when the sidewalls are extendedand snapped down into locking position. The top is removed by merelylifting the counter top out of its locking elements.

Hinged to the interior of the cabinet is a bottom wall or shelf 56 whichextends from the front to the rear of the cabinet when in its erectedposition. The shelf 56 is hinged by means of pivot pins 58 extendingfrom opposite edges of the shelf near the front edge thereof and intocooperating sockets formed in the inner face of the side panels 22 and24 near the lower edge thereof, slightly forward of the transverse wall26. The shelf is positioned so that when it is in its down positionshown in FIG. 3 the front end will bear against the upper edge of thetransverse 25 which becomes the load-carrying member in place of thepivot pins 58. The rear portion of the shelf 56 is supported by lockingdevices 60 similar in construction to the locking devices by which thecounter top is secured in position.

The cabinet is collapsed by first lifting off the counter top clear ofthe cabinet, swinging the shelf 56 upwardly and forwardly in towards thefacing panel 14 and then folding first one hinged wall and then theother hinged wall into overlapping relationship in the manner shown inFIG. 4. The overall size of the cabinet is thereby greatly reduced forstorage and shipping. The cabinet may be readily erected for eitherdemonstration or installation by merely swinging the sidewalls out,dropping the shelf down into a horizontal position, locking it in place,and then dropping the counter top in place. The locking elements aresufficiently secure that a cabinet may be set up permanently in placewithout any additional fasteners and without the use of any toolswhatsoever unless the cabinet is to be attached to a wall. in practice,the counter and other parts of the cabinet may be covered by laminatedplastic material.

Having thus described the invention, what i claim and desire to obtainby Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A collapsible cabinet, comprising a. a front frame section,

b. said from frame section including a planar facing panel, a fixedrecessed transverse panel, a rearwardly extending narrow vertical panelfixed to each side of said facing panel and said transverse panel anddefining an opening,

0. at least one door hinged to one of said vertical panels across saidopening,

(1. a wall hinged to each side of said frame section and movable from aposition substantially parallel to said section to a positionperpendicular thereto,

. a shelf pivoted by its edges to said section between said verticalpanels along a transverse axis inward of said facing panel and forwardof said transverse panel and movable from a position substantiallyparallel to said section to a position perpendicular thereto and to saidwalls, said shelf resting along the upper edge of said transverse panelwhen in a position perpendicular to said section and,

f. a counter top detachably mounted to said section and said walls whenin extended positions.

2. A collapsible cabinet according to claim 1 including at least onehinge for each of said walls, said hinge including a pair of legs, oneof said legs being flat and fastened to said wall, the other of saidlegs being formed with a bent portion and fastened to both of saidfacing panel and said vertical panel.

3. A collapsible cabinet according to claim 1 including locking meansfastened to said shelf and each of said walls for locking and supportingone end of said shelf in an extended position and a transverse memberbetween said vertical members and below said shelf for supporting theother end of said shelf.

1. A collapsible cabinet, comprising a. a front frame section, b. saidfront frame section including a planar facing panel, a fixed recessedtransverse panel, a rearwardly extending narrow vertical panel fixed toeach side of said facing panel and said transverse panel and defining anopening, c. at least one door hinged to one of said vertical panelsacross said opening, d. a wall hinged to each side of said frame sectionand movable from a position substantially parallel to said section to aposition perpendicular thereto, e. a shelf pivoted by its edges to saidsection between said vertical panels along a transverse axis inward ofsaid facing panel and forward of said transverse panel and movable froma position substantially parallel to said section to a positionperpendicular thereto and to said walls, said shelf resting along theupper edge of said transverse panel when in a position perpendicular tosaid section and, f. a counter top detachably mounted to said sectionand said walls when in extended positions.
 2. A collapsible cabinetaccording to claim 1 including at least one hinge for each of saidwalls, said hinge including a pair of legs, one of said legs being flatand fastened to said wall, the other of said legs being formed with abent portion and fastened to both of said facing panel and said verticalpanel.
 3. A collapsible cabinet according to claim 1 including lockingmeans fastened to said shelf and each of said walls for locking andsupporting one end of said shelf in an extended position and atransverse member between said vertical members and below said shelf forsupporting the other end of said shelf.